Materials Day showcases materials research innovation at Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The annual Materials Day, presented by the Penn State Materials Research Institute (MRI), will be held virtually on Nov. 10 and 11. This year’s event will be highlighted by the theme “The Convergence of Materials and Life,” focusing on how materials and devices on and inside the body will lead to better diagnostics, monitoring and therapy. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

The recent Penn State and University of Freiburg living materials partnership will be recognized through keynote addresses by the center directors from the two universities.

Other topics that will be covered in breakout sessions over the two mornings, include “Smart Buildings and 5G,” “Bio-devices for Infection Prevention, Detection and Treatment,” “Additive Manufacturing of Electronic Materials and Metals” and “Living Biomaterials: Directed Synthesis and Application to Diagnostics.”

In lieu of the typical poster sessions, new materials discoveries will be presented through prerecorded Flash Talks, with presenters available during both days to answer questions about their work. In addition, a State of the Materials Research Institute update will be delivered on Day 2 of the event by Clive Randall, director of MRI, which will include the launching of MRI’s seed grant call for proposals and the 2020 Rustum And Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Awards. Lora Weiss, Penn State senior vice president for research, will welcome attendees to Day 2 of the event.

Traditionally, Materials Day has been an opportunity to connect industry and the materials community to the latest faculty and student research. This will continue virtually through industry breakout sessions hosted by a variety of materials-based companies. This year also features the chance for undergraduates interested in attending graduate school at Penn State to interact with representatives of several materials-related departments.

For more information and to register for this event, go to https://www.mri.psu.edu/mri/events/materials-day-2020 or contact Dave Fecko at [email protected].